Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright is calling for applications to join its new Insurathon 2020 programme. The winner may receive a small equity investment from the firm and detailed legal input.
Start-ups and scale-ups with a focus on the insurance sector are welcome to apply, as well as perhaps those legal tech companies that clearly benefit the insurance companies and their clients in a sector-relevant way.
The annual competition has so far provided in excess of £100,000 ($128,700) of pro bono advice and investment support to entrants over the last three years. The firm has also invested £25,000 ($32,200) in Riskbook, last year’s winner, (see full Artificial Lawyer story from Dec 2019), as part of their latest funding round.
Clearly that is not a life-changing amount, but given that Norton Rose is a major player in the global insurance market, then having a friend and investor such as this can only help a young company to get noticed.
Last year the firm also awarded the full Insurathon 2019 prize fund of £50,000 ($64,400) to Riskbook – a ‘hyper-connected reinsurance marketplace’ – and gave £25,000 ($32,200) of pro bono UK legal and regulatory advice on its business model and contractual arrangements. All in all, a pretty good deal for the winner.
Once again, the new 2020 cohort will compete for:
· £25,000 of pro bono UK legal and regulatory advice from specialist lawyers within Norton Rose Fulbright’s corporate and regulatory insurance practice
· A potential investment of £25,000 by way of an equity investment (‘at the firm’s absolute option and discretion, subject to contract, diligence and Norton Rose Fulbright Investment Committee’s approval’ – the firm added very legally.)
Also, all Insurathon 2020 applicants will have access to one-to-one 45-minute pro bono clinics that will cover legal and regulatory issues across areas such as corporate, restructuring, commercial arrangements, intellectual property, data privacy, employment and labour and financial services regulatory.
Nicholas Berry, a corporate and regulatory insurance partner at Norton Rose, and who leads the Insurathon events, commented: ‘Despite the ongoing impact of COVID-19 globally, London continues to be a centre for supporting businesses driving innovation in the insurance sector.
‘As part of the firm’s commitment to recognising excellence in innovation, we were keen to proceed with the 2019 original prize award and complete the investment aspect of the prize for Riskbook as part of their latest funding round. We have enjoyed helping the team with its initial legal framework and look forward to working with the team as it continues to grow. We look forward to seeing what applicants we have for the 2020 event.’
Applications for entry for the 2020 event must be submitted by Monday 26 October, 2020, with finalists invited to a virtual pitch event on Thursday 5 November, 2020.
All pitches will be made via Zoom to a panel of Norton Rose Fulbright judges. Members of the public and other participants will not be able to see the pitches, they added.
Full details of the criteria and how to apply are at:
Good luck to all the applicants!
[ Main pic: a nostalgic photo of Lloyd’s of London, the crown jewel of the UK’s insurance sector. Wow, remember when people used to work in office buildings…? ]